December 17
Events * 546 - Gothic War: The Ostrogoths of King Totila conquer Rome bribing the Byzantine garrison. *920 - Romanos I is crowned co-emperor of the underage Emperor Constantine VII. *942 - Assassination of William I of Normandy. *1398 - Sultan Mehmud's armies in Delhi defeated by Timur. *1531 - Pope Clement VII established a parallel to the Inquisition in Lisbon, Portugal. *1538 - Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII of England. *1577 - Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth, England, on a secret mission to explore the Pacific Coast of the Americas for British Queen Elizabeth I. *1586 - Emperor Go-Yozei becomes Emperor of Japan. *1600 - Marriage of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. *1637 - Shimabara Rebellion: Japanese peasants led by Amakusa Shiro rise against daimyo Matsukura Shigeharu. *1718 - Great Britain declares war to Spain. *1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven is baptized at Bonn. *1807 - France issues the Milan Decree, which confirms the Continental System. *1819 - Simón Bolívar declares the independence of the Republic of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela). *1834 - The Dublin and Kingstown Railway opened in Ireland, the first public railway on the island of Ireland. *1862 - American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. *1903 - The Wright Brothers made their first powered and heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk. *1919 - Uruguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty. *1935 - First flight of the Douglas DC-3 airplane. *1939 - World War II: Battle of the River Plate - The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo. *1941 - World War II: Beginning of the Siege of Sebastopol. * 1941 - World War II: Japanese forces land in Northern Borneo. *1944 - World War II: Battle of the Bulge - Malmedy massacre - American 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion POWs are shot by Waffen-SS Kampfgruppe Peiper. *1961 - History of Goa: Operation Vijay - India seizes Goa from Portugal. *1967 - Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt disappears while swimming near Portsea. *1969 - The SALT I talks begin. * 1969 - Project Blue Book: The USAF closes its study of UFOs, stating that sightings were generated as a result of "A mild form of mass hysteria, Individuals who fabricate such reports to perpetrate a hoax or seek publicity, psychopathological persons, and misidentification of various conventional objects." *1970 - Polish 1970 protests: In Gdynia, soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing dozens. *1973 - 32 are killed in an attempt at the Rome Fiumicino Airport. *1978 - The Workers Party of Jamaica is founded by Trevor Munroe. *1981 - Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigade in Verona. * 1981 - Founding of the Senegambia Confederation. *1983 - The IRA bomb Harrods Department Store in London, killing seven people (see Harrods bombing). *1987 - Mega Man makes his debut on the NES in the video game Mega Man. *1989 - Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timişoara with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party's District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire. * 1989 - First free elections in Brazil in 25 years. * 1989 - Premiere of hit animated television series The Simpsons. *1999 - The United Nations General Assembly passes resolution 54/134 designating November 25 as the annual International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women. *2002 - Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years. *2003 - SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes the first privately-funded manned supersonic flight. *2005 - Anti-WTO protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong Births *1239 - Kujo Yoritsugu, Japanese Shogun (d. 1256) *1267 - Emperor Go-Uda of Japan (d. 1324) *1619 - Prince Rupert of the Rhine, commander in the English Civil War (d. 1682) *1632 - Anthony Wood, English antiqurian (d. 1695) *1685 - Thomas Tickell, English writer (d. 1740) *1706 - Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1749) *1734 - Maria I of Portugal, Portuguese queen (d. 1816) *1749 - Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer (d. 1801) *1770 - (Baptism) - Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (d. 1827) *1778 - Sir Humphry Davy, English chemist and physicist (d. 1829) *1796 - Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian novelist (d. 1865) *1799 - Titian Peale, American artist (d. 1885) *1807 - John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet and abolitionist (d. 1892) *1830 - Jules de Goncourt, French publisher (d. 1870) *1835 - Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, American scientist; son of Louis Agassiz (d. 1910) *1847 - Émile Faguet, French writer and critic (d. 1916) *1853 - Émile Roux, French physician (d. 1933) *1859 - Paul César Helleu, French artist (d. 1927) *1873 - Ford Madox Ford, English writer (d. 1939) *1874 - William Lyon Mackenzie King, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1950) *1883 - Raimu, French actor (d. 1946) *1887 - Josef Lada, Czech painter (d. 1957) * 1887 - Hermine Reuss, Empress of Germany and Duchess of Bohemia (d. 1947) *1888 - King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (d. 1934) *1892 - Sam Barry, American basketball coach (d. 1950) *1893 - Erwin Piscator, German film director (d. 1966) *1894 - Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (d. 1979) *1900 - Mary Cartwright, English mathematician (d. 1998) * 1900 - Katina Paxinou, Greek actress (d. 1973) *1903 - Erskine Caldwell, American author (d. 1987) * 1903 - Ray Noble, English bandleader and actor (d. 1978) *1904 - Paul Cadmus, American artist (d. 1999) *1905 - Simo Häyhä, Finnish sniper (d. 2002) * 1905 - Érico Lopes Veríssimo, Brazilian writer (d. 1975) *1906 - Fernando Lopes-Graça, Portuguese composer and musicologist (d. 1994) *1908 - Willard Frank Libby, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1980) *1910 - Sy Oliver, American jazz arranger and bandleader (d. 1988) *1915 - André Claveau, French singer (d. 2003) *1916 - Penelope Fitzgerald, English writer (d. 2000) *1920 - Kenneth E. Iverson, Canadian computer scientist (d. 2004) *1922 - Alan Voorhees, American engineer and urban planner (d. 2005) *1923 - Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian (d. 2006) *1926 - Ray Jablonski, American baseball player (d. 1985) *1927 - Richard Long, American actor (d. 1974) *1929 - Jacqueline Hill, English actress (d. 1993) * 1929 - William Safire, American columnist *1930 - Bob Guccione, American magazine publisher * 1930 - Bob Mathias, American decathlete and congressman (d. 2006) * 1930 - Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor *1931 - Dave Madden, Canadian-born American actor *1934 - Ray Wilson, English footballer *1935 - George Lindsey, American actor * 1935 - Cal Ripken, American baseball coach (d. 1999) *1936 - Tommy Steele, English singer and actor *1937 - Kerry Packer, Australian businessman (d. 2005) * 1937 - John Kennedy Toole, American novelist (d. 1969) * 1937 - Calvin Waller, US Army general (d. 1996) *1938 - Carlo Little, English drummer (d. 2005) * 1938 - Peter Snell, New Zealand runner *1939 - Eddie Kendricks, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1992) *1940 - Kåre Valebrokk, Norwegian journalist *1942 - Paul Butterfield, American musician (d. 1987) *1943 - Mary Brunner, American former "Manson Family" member * 1943 - Ron Geesin, Scottish musician and composer *1944 - Jack L. Chalker, American novelist * 1944 - Bernard Hill, English actor *1945 - Ernie Hudson, American actor * 1945 - Chris Matthews, American journalist * 1945 - Jacqueline Wilson, English author *1946 - Eugene Levy, Canadian actor *1947 - Wes Studi, American actor *1949 - Sotiris Kaiafas, Cypriot footballer * 1949 - Paul Rodgers, English singer (Free; Bad Company) *1950 - Laurence F. Johnson, American educator *1951 - Ken Hitchcock, Canadian ice hockey coach * 1951 - Tatyana Kazankina, Soviet athlete *1953 - Samuel Hadida, film distributor * 1953 - Barry Livingston, American actor * 1953 - Bill Pullman, American actor *1955 - Brad Davis, American basketball player *1956 - Peter Farrelly, American film director *1957 - Earl Hudson, American drummer (Bad Brains) *1958 - Mike Mills, American musician (R.E.M.) *1960 - Moreno Argentin, Italian cyclist *1960 - Sara Dallin, English singer (Bananarama) *1962 - Paul Dobson, English footballer * 1962 - Richard Jewell, central figure in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing (d. 2007) * 1962 - Rocco Mediate, American golfer *1964 - Ginger, English singer and guitarist (The Wildhearts) * 1964 - Frank Musil, Czech ice hockey player * 1964 - Michele Tafoya, American sportcaster *1966 - Tracy Byrd American musician * 1966 - Valeri Liukin, Soviet gymnast * 1966 - Kristiina Ojuland, Estonian politician *1967 - Gigi D'Agostino, Italian DJ and musician * 1967 - Vincent Damphousse, Canadian ice hockey player * 1967 - Chris Mason PDC Darts player *1968 - Andrey Golovatiuk, Russian politician * 1968 - Paul Tracy, Canadian race car driver *1969 - Chuck Liddell, American martial artist *1970 - Joshua Seth, American voice actor *1971 - Alan Khan, South African radio disc jockey * 1971 - Antoine Rigaudeau, French basketball player *1972 - John Abraham, Indian actor * 1972 - Laurie Holden, American actress *1973 - Paula Radcliffe, English runner * 1973 - Konstadinos Gatsioudis, Greek javelin thrower *1974 - Duff Goldman, American chef * 1974 - Giovanni Ribisi, American actor *1975 - Nick Dinsmore (Eugene), American professional wrestler * 1975 - Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-born actress * 1975 - Sarah Paulson, American actress * 1975 - Bree Sharp, American singer/songwriter *1976 - Éric Bédard, Canadian speed skater * 1976 - Zsanett Égerházi, Hungarian-born porn actress * 1976 - Patrick Müller, Swiss footballer * 1976 - Takeo Spikes, American football player *1977 - Arnaud Clement, French tennis player *1978 - Alex Cintrón, Puerto Rican baseball player *1978 - Neil Sanderson, Drummer for rock band "Three Days Grace" * 1978 - Riteish Deshmukh, Indian actor * 1978 - Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer * 1978 - Chase Utley, American baseball player *1979 - Jaimee Foxworth, American actress * 1979 - Ryan Key, American musician and songwriter (Yellowcard) * 1979 - Matt Murley, American ice hockey player *1980 - Eli Pariser, American political activist (MoveOn.org) * 1980 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, American race car driver *1982 - Josh Barfield, Venezuelan baseball player * 1982 - Craig Kielburger, Canadian labour activist * 1982 - Stephane Lasme, Gabonese basketball player *1984 - Andrew Davies, English footballer *1985 - Ryuichi Ogata, member of Japanese boy band w-inds. *1994 - Nat Wolff, American Singer, actor and songwriter Deaths * 942 - William Longsword *1187 - Pope Gregory VIII *1195 - Baldwin V (b. 1150) *1273 - Rumi (b.1207) *1663 - Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba (b. 1583) *1721 - Richard Lumley, English statesman (b. 1640) *1830 - Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan-born libertator, six nations (b. 1783) *1833 - Kaspar Hauser, German foundling (b. 1812) *1847 - Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, second wife of Napoleon (b. 1791) *1897 - Alphonse Daudet, French writer (b. 1840) *1907 - William Thomson, Irish-born physicist (b. 1824) *1909 - Léopold II of Belgium (b. 1835) *1917 - Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, British physician (b. 1836) * 1917 - Frank Gotch, wrestler (b. 1878) *1933 - Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama (b. 1876) *1940 - Alicia Boole Stott, Irish mathematician (b. 1860) *1957 - Dorothy L. Sayers, British writer (b. 1893) *1962 - Thomas Mitchell, American actor (b. 1892) *1964 - Victor Franz Hess, Austrian-born physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1883) *1967 - Harold Holt, Australian Prime Minister (b. 1908) * 1967 - Jack Perrin, American actor (b. 1896) *1978 - Don Ellis, American jazz band leader (b. 1934) *1982 - Homer S. Ferguson, American politician (b. 1889) *1987 - Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian novelist (b. 1903) * 1987 - Linda Wong, pornographic actress (b. 1951) *1992 - Dana Andrews, American actor (b. 1909) *1999 - Grover Washington, American saxophonist (b. 1943) * 1999 - Rex Allen, American actor, singer and songwriter (b. 1920) *2002 - James Hazeldine, British actor (b. 1947) *2003 - Ed Devereaux, Australian actor (b. 1925) * 2003 - Otto Graham, American football player (b. 1921) *2004 - Tom Wesselmann, American collage artist (b. 1931) *2005 - Jack Anderson, American journalist (b. 1922) * 2005 - Marc Favreau, French Canadian humourist (Sol) (b. 1929) *2006 - Larry Sherry, American baseball player (b. 1935) Holidays and observances *Roman festivals – Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn, began. *R.C. Saints – O Sapientia ; Saint Lazarus *Greek Orthodox Church-Saint Barbaras day – Feast of Daniel the Prophet *Bhutan – National Day (1907) *USA – Wright Brothers Day (by Presidential Proclamation) *Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:December